Poké World War
by Koopa Trope
Summary: Venetia hosts her first Radio Show: World War Week. Discover how the great war dramatically changed the history of the Pokémon world forever. A tale of crime, action and politics.
1. Monday

POKÉ WORLD WAR

 **Monday  
**

The following has been transcribed by the _Pokémon Channel Radio Station_ crew in order to archive the _World War Week Special_.

VENETIA: Welcome to _Poké History Radio Show_! I'm your host DJ Venetia and it's a sunny Monday here in Goldenrod City! I don't know about you guys, but I couldn't be more excited! This is the first episode of our special series _World War Week_! Every day we will hear a different story from someone who lived through that period. Today's guest is Leopold Darrell, the author of _Leopold: Between Berries and Smoke_ , a man from Kanto who witnessed the incidents that started the conflict. Hi, Leopold!

LEOPOLD: Hi, Venetia.

VENETIA: How are you?

LEOPOLD: Good. And you?

VENETIA: Me too! Leopold, your book, _Between Berries and Smoke_ , is coming out next week, right? Can you tell us a little bit about it?

LEOPOLD: It covers all the important parts of my life. My childhood in the country with my dad, the time I worked for Team Smoke and a lot of war stories.

VENETIA: Well, the station got me a copy of it, even though it's not out yet, and I got to say: your life is really impressive! I wish we could talk about everything in detail, but this is _World War Week_ , so we'll focus on the war, ok?

LEOPOLD: Ok.

VENETIA: So, can you tell us how a country boy wound up on Team Smoke, the organization that triggered the war?

LEOPOLD: Hm... When I was seventeen my father died, leaving me alone in the world.

VENETIA: Seventeen? So young!

LEOPOLD: Yeah. I learned to take care of myself. We used to live in a house with a small berry plantation, so I survived off of that for some time. In that region, near Route 5, in Kanto, there are a lot of farms, so I occasionally worked in other people's fields for food. Can't eat only berries, right? Then, one day, rushing trucks filled the road. The drivers were screaming: "They're coming! They're coming!". They told everyone to flee from there as fast as they could. One even offered me a ride, but I refused it.

VENETIA: Did they tell you what was going on?

LEOPOLD: Yeah! A swarm of scythers had left the region that today is Kanto Safari Zone and had been eating every crop they could find. This used to happen sometimes. Never before in my lifetime, though.

VENETIA: Safari Zone is far away from Route 5, right?

LEOPOLD: It is. Scythers can fly long distances. And very fast. There was a chance they would pass through my area, but I decided to stay anyway.

VENETIA: Why?

LEOPOLD: Hm... I was telling myself I couldn't leave because I had nowhere else to go. I was young and dumb. Do you know how dangerous a swarm of scythers is?

VENETIA: I can only imagine.

LEOPOLD: They will kill anyone that stands in their way. I locked myself at home with Coal, my old growlithe. Very loyal dog. My father tamed him with a staff, so I could make him do a lot of things with just a swing of that piece of wood.

VENETIA: Some of our younger audience might be getting a little confused, now. This was before the invention of pokéballs, right?

LEOPOLD: Yeah! Hm... But Coal was as loyal as any pokémon you can find today. Maybe even more. You know, hm... pokéballs tame them for you, but don't make them like you. Or respect you.

VENETIA: They may not even obey you.

LEOPOLD: That's right.

VENETIA: So, the swarm ended up passing through your home, right?

LEOPOLD: Yeah. The bugs came. Anyone could tell they were arriving by the noise. That buzz. But I only left the field and ran for shelter when they covered the sky. Stubborn, right? I grabbed the taming staff and locked myself with the dog in the main house. We almost didn't make it on time. After eating all our crops they surrounded the building, trying to enter. Looking for the food I had in there, I would guess. The worst part is that in the farm I had a lot of things I could use to protect myself, like hoes and axes, but in my hurry it was impossible to bring them inside.

VENETIA: Oh! What happened then?

LEOPOLD: Finally one broke the door. Four or five entered the house. Inside they flew in a messy way, hitting the walls and the furniture. Following my orders Coal fire attacked the doorway to burn it and keep the rest of them out. I used the staff to protect myself and command the dog at the same time.

VENETIA: Now that's something you don't hear everyday. A guy that fought scythers with a wooden stick!

LEOPOLD: (Laughs). No, I wasn't using the staff like it was a sword! Scythers are quick. They would have cut through the wood like butter! I was trying to scare them, swinging that thing, keeping them away while Coal did all the hard job.

VENETIA: And it worked!

LEOPOLD: It did for me, but... hm... Coal died right after the fight was over.

VENETIA: Oh! I'm so sorry! Poor thing.

LEOPOLD: Yeah. Hm... He would probably be alive if all of this had happened some years later. He could have been healed if he were in a pokéball, I guess.

VENETIA: He never got to be an actual pokémon, then?

LEOPOLD: He didn't. He died before all of this.

VENETIA: So, what happened after the attack?

LEOPOLD: Hm... I had nothing left. Not even Coal anymore. So I picked up most of the things I had and went to the big city to try to sell them.

VENETIA: What kind of things?

LEOPOLD: Tools, knives... I also carried some toys to the city. They were once my father's. Looked like relics but they ended up not having much value. They were actually called pokéballs. Maybe that's where the name of the device came.

VENETIA: Sure! I still have some from an uncle of mine! They were very popular here in Johto! And yes, the device is called pokéball because of that toy.

LEOPOLD: Yeah. I guess they were not common back home because there aren't any apricorns in Kanto.

VENETIA: I'll explain for our listeners what we're talking about. People used to cut apricorns in two and take out all the pulp to keep toys inside. Mostly small pokédolls. They used to close it with a little clasp made out of wood or metal. It was basically a pokéball, right? It was a ball with a pokémon inside, after all.

LEOPOLD: Yeah. My dad had five or six of those. He made them himself. One ball had a clefairy, one had a rattata... He also carved the dolls out of wood.

VENETIA: I heard there's a guy in Azalea Town that still makes pokéballs out of apricorns. He makes this same toy but adds in the mechanism used in the real ones. So it's a pokéball with the shell of an apricorn. Like an old school pokéball. I want to get my hands on one.

LEOPOLD: Seems fine.

VENETIA: Professor Oak told me about him once, after recording his show.

LEOPOLD: Professor Oak's show is recorded in here?

VENETIA: Yes! He comes all the way from Pallet Town because he doesn't want to record it alone. I used to work on that show until recently, not as a DJ, of course.

LEOPOLD: Hm.

VENETIA: So, Leopold, you left your home... But, if I remember your book well, you found something precious before leaving...

LEOPOLD: Oh! Sure! Hm... There was a young scyther in a corner of my living room. He was small and looked scared. If there were pokédexes at that time, he would probably be under level five. Few people had tamed scythers. It's a pokémon known for its aggressiveness. I tamed him with that same staff.

VENETIA: A pokéball and some TMs would have been great, right? (Laughs).

LEOPOLD: It would have been easier. But I don't know... Of course pokéballs are great, I mean, Coal would still be alive, but I used to like the old ways. At least to catch and train them. It was more thrilling. Hm... You know, most bug catchers I know still use a net.

VENETIA: I know! That's so stupid!

LEOPOLD: Why?

VENETIA: Because it's irresponsible! So dangerous!

LEOPOLD: That's part of the fun.

VENETIA: But you have a pokémon by your side! Use it! (Laughs).

LEOPOLD: Well, I used to fish a lot when I was young. Today I have a level 30 poliwrath that knows Surf and Dive, but you know what? I don't use him to catch my water pokémon. I still fish with a rod! I like fishing!

VENETIA: Ok, I just don't think it's a safe practice.

LEOPOLD: It's not that dangerous. You can use a rod but have a pokémon by your side. So you're prepared for the moment when you hook one and it attacks. It's the same with the net.

VENETIA: Hm, ok. I understand. So, where were we? Oh! The scyther! What was his name?

LEOPOLD: Leif.

VENETIA: Do you still have him?

LEOPOLD: Yeah. I eventually put him into a pokéball. This happened before the Four Moves thing, but later I registered and updated his pokéball. Now he's completely legal and follows all the League's standards. He could even be in a championship someday. Would you believe it if I told you he's higher than level 50 now?

VENETIA: Wow! That's awesome!

LEOPOLD: He's a great partner.

VENETIA: So, after all this you went to Saffron City, right?

LEOPOLD: Yeah, I went there to try out a new life.

VENETIA: I love all those golden buildings! It reminds me of Goldenrod!

LEOPOLD: The city really impressed me at the time. Everything was new to me.

VENETIA: How old were you when you got there?

LEOPOLD: Around twenty-one.

VENETIA: So, how did you end up on Team Smoke?

LEOPOLD: Well, hm... [Brief silence]. It's easy to get drawn to crime if you walk with the wrong crowd. Especially when you're a poor country boy who's got nothing to lose in a fancy city. They took me to eat at a lot of refined restaurants. Sushi, and other stuff. Expensive taurus barbecues. Can you believe I had never tried beef? I remember eating at a place that served Kalos food. They all shared a slowpoke tail. I was so disgusted! I, that had almost starved in the past... Hm... And the night life in the big city...

VENETIA: But how it happened, exactly? Did they approached you, or the opposite?

LEOPOLD: Hm... I'm sorry, Venetia. If some listeners would like to know this story they'll have to buy the book. (Laughs)

VENETIA: Ok! I imagine it's not easy for you to talk about this. So, you worked for Team Smoke for years, right?

LEOPOLD: Yeah, five years.

VENETIA: And what about... "The" job? The one that was responsible for starting the war.

LEOPOLD: Hm... The Big Boss himself summoned hundreds of employees to a hall bellow the headquarters. We all had a part to play in the plan. I had done some favors for them, and earned a little bit of money, but this was a whole new level!

VENETIA: Can you tell our audience what the plan was?

LEOPOLD: To steal the first pokéball. It was a just a prototype, but, according to someone, it worked. Hm... And then we would try to make copies. You know, we had a lot of great scientists among us.

VENETIA: Why was Team Smoke interested in the prototype of the pokéball?

LEOPOLD: If that thing did what our sources said it did, it was the most powerful weapon to ever exist. We had to own one before anyone else did.

VENETIA: What was your part in the plan?

LEOPOLD: Nothing special. I was on the passenger seat of one of the trucks, covering the driver. One of the decoy trucks. I didn't even go inside Silph Co. In the book I went into details about the whole plan. It was very complex.

VENETIA: But you succeeded, right?

LEOPOLD: Yeah. Well, we all know the story. We stole the pokéball. We made copies. A lot of them.

VENETIA: Just so our listeners can have a glimpse of what this means: the day before, few people had companion monsters, right?

LEOPOLD: Yeah. Hm... and when they did have them, they only had one or two.

VENETIA: And on the next day, every employee of this crime organization could catch dozens in a day! One single criminal could have hundreds of powerful, deadly, pokémon.

LEOPOLD: And carry them all at once. There was no Six+ bullshit at the time. Can I say bullshit at this show?

VENETIA: You shouldn't.

LEOPOLD: Sorry.

VENETIA: It's ok.

LEOPOLD: Hm... In one month, Team Smoke had more than twenty times the number of monsters it had before. It felt like entering a new era. One in which whoever had more pokémon would control the world. We went into a spree to capture them as fast as we could so nobody would ever catch up. With pokéballs, the more pokémon you have, the easier it is to capture more.

VENETIA: Yes, it's geometrical progression.

LEOPOLD: I have no idea what that means, but I agree.

VENETIA: (Laughs).

LEOPOLD: That's how the war started. Of course Silph Co. made pokéballs again and the army got their hands on them.

VENETIA: And eventually they had more power than the criminals.

LEOPOLD: Hm... Our army never did. What really won the war, in my opinion, was the foreign intervention.

VENETIA: So, all the bombing, you think it was a good thing?

LEOPOLD: Not a good thing, but it was a price to pay. It could have been done in a better way, of course. Hm... If the United States and other armies had helped our government stop Team Smoke from the beginning, instead of seeing the whole country as a threat, maybe things would have been better. Or if Silph Co. had provided pokéballs to the other armies sooner... I don't know, I'm just a farmer!

VENETIA: I guess we'll never know if things could have worked out any other way, right?

LEOPOLD: Yeah, we'll never know.

VENETIA: Leopold, thank you so much for the interview!

LEOPOLD: You're welcome, Venetia! Thank you for the opportunity.

VENETIA: You'll be back on Wednesday, right?

LEOPOLD: Yeah, Wednesday.

VENETIA: Nice talking to you. Bye-bye!

LEOPOLD: Bye!

VENETIA: Wow! That guy has lived to see it! I couldn't recommend his book more: " _Leopold: Between Berries and Smoke_ ". Tomorrow we will be hosting Gentleman Henry Tucker, a soldier who fought the war side-by-side with Lt. Surge. That's right, The American Lightning! I'll be waiting for you in this same time. Now, stay with Ben to listen to some _Pokémon Music_! Goodbye!


	2. Tuesday

POKÉ WORLD WAR

 **Tuesday**

The following has been transcribed by the _Pokémon Channel_ _Radio Station_ crew in order to archive the _World War Week Special_.

VENETIA: Good morning, Johto! This is your host, DJ Venetia, welcoming you to another episode of our special show, _Word War Week_! Today we'll interview Gentleman Henry Tucker, and apparently his sidekick, a beautiful female unfezant! Hello, Mr. Tucker!

TUCKER: Hello, Venetia! Hello, listeners!

VENETIA: Can I pet her?

TUCKER: Sure!

UNFEZANT: (Cry)

VENETIA: That's a gorgeous bird you've got there!

TUCKER: Thank you! Her name is Angel. I've had her since I was a teenager.

VENETIA: So, Mr. Tucker, can you tell us a little bit about your life before the war?

TUCKER: Well, I was born and raised in Unova, in case you can't tell by my accent (laughs). In Driftveil City, to be more specific. I studied engineering in Castelia, worked there for a few years and... Well, that's it.

VENETIA: And how's your life today?

TUCKER: I live in Kanto with my beautiful wife Tereza and two children. One of them is about to give us a grandson! And I'm a full time pokémon trainer at the Vermilion City Gym.

VENETIA: Pretty big change in your life, right?

TUCKER: Yes! (Laughs)

VENETIA: How's life in a gym?

TUCKER: Well, pokémon battles all day, potions and TMs for free, all the help I need to raise my and my family's pokémon... It's not a bad life! (Laughs).

VENETIA: If you like pokémon, that's a dream come true. Shall we talk about the war?

TUCKER: Sure, that's why I'm here, right?

VENETIA: Right! Mr. Tucker, you fought at the battle of Vermilion, a historical massacre. How hard is it for you to talk about those days?

TUCKER: It's rough, Venetia, but don't worry. Some people avoid talking about all the suffering and atrocities they've been through during the war, but not me. I have no problem in describing it all, especially the battle of Vermilion, for several reasons. The first one being that I was under the command of Lieutenant Surge, and that man has always kept us confident and hopeful, so I'm not as traumatized as some of my fellow colleagues. Another reason, and I think this is the most important, is that I don't believe in hiding war facts. We completely destroyed Vermilion. We murdered civilians, including women and children. Am I proud of that? Of course not! I'm goddamn ashamed! But I think omitting any detail would be a crime against humanity. It would contribute to future wars happening, and I don't want that! I'm done having blood on my hands! It isn't easy, but I will tell you, and anyone listening to this, everything that happened in the Battle of Vermilion, in detail.

VENETIA: Can you give us some context? What was happening at this stage of the war?

TUCKER: Well, I will just continue from where you guys stopped yesterday, ok?

VENETIA: That's great! I'm glad you heard yesterday's interview!

TUCKER: So, Team Smoke went insane. They were spreading all around the world capturing pokémon and conquering cities. They weren't a local menace anymore, but a global one. People were hiding in their homes. Japan was receiving warnings from all around the world that it should find a solution for this problem or other countries would intervene inside it's territory. The relationship between this country and America was already tense because of Unova's dominance at the time. And them, when Team Smoke started to act inside American territory... Well, that made the war explode.

VENETIA: Ok. So, when did you enter the equation?

TUCKER: Midway through the war. When things started to look bad for the American government they started to call for reservists like myself.

VENETIA: How did you feel when they called you?

TUCKER: Bad. (Laughs). Worried. I was not young anymore, I already had all my life figured out. It's not easy. And I liked Japan. I'm from Unova, we have a strong bond with Japanese people. But we are American citizens, so there was nothing I could do besides fighting for my country. I spent months in the Air Force training and, at some point, I was summoned for an actual mission.

VENETIA: In the squadron commanded by Surge, right?

TUCKER: Yes. We were twelve people piloting twelve planes. I had Angel inside mine all the time, she was still a tranquill, and the Lieutenant had his personal pokémon too, a pikachu named Pikachu. And of course, there were magnemites and voltorbs in each plane's compartment.

VENETIA: Tranquills are such peaceful pokémon! I'm shocked to learn that they've been used in the war!

TUCKER: They are peaceful, but very, very loyal. If you need them, even in a war, they will not disappoint you, I promise you that.

VENETIA: I believe you. You use her in the gym as well?

TUCKER: No, it's an Electric-type only gym. I use a pikachu from the lineage Surge made for the army.

VENETIA: He made them for the army? What are they used for?

TUCKER: We don't have pikachus in nature in Unova. He brought them there and bred them. If you didn't have your own pokémon the army would give you one of those. Until people started to produce magnemites and voltorbs, at least.

VENETIA: Ok. So, back to the war! What was the mission?

TUCKER: An aerial attack on Vermilion City. We were there at noon. The city was completely dominated by Team Smoke and surrounded by Japanese troops. It was a strategic place because of its harbor, the most important in all Kanto, and the main connection between that region and Johnto, at the time. Surge ordered some planes to bomb the seaport and others the city. Vermilion is known for being bathed in orange by the setting sun, but by the time the sun was setting, the city was covered in grey smoke. My heart aches when I think about it.

VENETIA: I'm sorry for making you go through this.

TUCKER: It's ok, Venetia. These things should not be left to die inside a man, they should be exposed to the world, so everybody can know what war is all about. There's no glory in it.

VENETIA: How did you time the voltorbs to explode at the right time?

TUCKER: Pilots can talk to the plane's pokémon through the radio. I mean... Do you mind if I call them pokémon, even though they weren't into pokéballs yet? It just sounds weird calling them "monsters", "majus" or this kind of thing.

VENETIA: Of course I don't mind.

TUCKER: See? When a man at my age doesn't want to call them by other names anymore, that's how you know pokéballs had a great impact on us all. (Laughs)

VENETIA: (Laughs)

TUCKER: We used to tell them to self-destruct about five feet from the soil and then release them one by one. Of course some exploded too early. Others waited too long and hit the ground without having the chance to explode.

VENETIA: Poor things.

TUCKER: It was an eerie view from the planes. The city smothered by with explosions. Most of them destroying buildings and houses, before it all became smoke.

UNFEAZANT: (Cry)

TUCKER: Easy, girl, easy. Well, Venetia, when we were preparing to leave, a Japanese squadron appeared from behind the mount of Route 8. They were close, twice our number, and were already releasing their pokémon. I saw pidgeottos, fearows, golbats, beedrills... One of the planes even let out a charizard! To flee seemed like the only option. Lt. Surge ordered us to release our magnemites and retreat. I specifically ordered mine to attack the charizard flying alongside one of the aircrafts. Our magnet pokémon went straight to the enemy squadron to give us some time while our own aircrafts made a u-turn above Vermilion to head back to Unova. I saw through the rear-view mirror that the charizard was falling, but only after destroying several magnemites. His roar outcried our airplanes' motors. I'm not sure what hit me, but before I even left Vermilion air territory there was an explosion, a violent impact and all I could see was smoke. We were trained to find the eject button even in complete darkness, so I had no problem doing that.

VENETIA: Wow! What else? What about Angel?

TUCKER: I will get there. I opened my parachute and looked around me. Every other American plane had been hit but only some of my colleagues were able to eject. We were slowly falling through a sky filled with flying pokémon and airplane wreckage. I couldn't find Angel anywhere. Down there, Vermilion was getting closer every second. Deciding where to fall wasn't an easy task. The worst option was the sea. Tentacools would attack me in seconds, as well as the enemy. The city was covered in smoke, perfect for hiding, but it was a hard fall. I would probably get hurt trying to land blindly there. The forest was easier to land than the city, and I would be protected from the enemy, but the trees would wound me, no doubt. And my friends would have a hard time looking for me. Oh, and there were wild pokémon, of course. It wasn't an option. The destroyed harbor was an easy land, but it was as opened to enemy attacks as the ocean.

VENETIA: Wait, you thought of all of this while you were falling?

TUCKER: (Laughs) I think so. A lot goes through your mind during these moments.

VENETIA: And where did you choose to fall?

TUCKER: I spotted the commander officer in mid-air, with his pikachu gripping to his body. He was heading east, between the harbor and the forest, where Diglett's Cave was. The air there wasn't completely clear, for the smoke of the city was already spreading. I aimed there as well.

VENETIA: Can you explain what Diglett's Cave is? I don't think all of our listeners are familiar with Kanto's locations.

TUCKER: Well, in Kanto there's a big underground tunnel dug by wild diglett and dugtrio. It connects Route 2, south of Pewter City, to the western end of Route 11. That's still technically inside Vermilion.

VENETIA: Ok. Since I already interrupted you, let me ask you another thing. Didn't voltorbs evolve from the pokéball? If this was in the beginning of the war and pokéballs had just been invented, how did you have voltorbs?

TUCKER: Well, they were created almost at the same time. In America we used to manufacture magnemites, and that's where all this technology came from. The first artificial pokémon that could be programmed to recognize their owner. Then, in Japan, Silph Co. made the pokéball, using the same technology. They somehow figured out a way to make it apply to any pokémon. Of course, they couldn't send their product to market immediately, as all the tests had to be done and the government needed to approve it. Meanwhile, they made the voltorb, based on the pokéball. Since artificial pokémon weren't such a new thing, they were able to start selling them before the pokéball. Armies from all around the world bought them. A little before the pokéball got its final approval for sale, Team Smoke stole the prototype.

VENETIA: Were magnemites only manufactured in America?

TUCKER: Yes. You will find them in the wild here in Japan because of the war, because of all the battles. Some stayed here and reproduced. Maybe their owner died, maybe they got lost. Most of them were attracted by power plants and stuff like that after the war. That's where you'll find them.

VENETIA: Great. Back to the war!

TUCKER: Well, I fell near the entrance of the cave and the beginning of the forest. After a moment of silence trying to hear something or someone, Angel appeared.

VENETIA: Good girl!

UNFEAZANT: (Cry)

TUCKER: They always know where their owner is. I told her to go look for the other ones and lead them to me. Unless someone was incapacitated, then she should lead me there.

VENETIA: Wow! Does she understand this kind of order?

TUCKER: She sure does! I wasn't the only one receiving military training! (Laughs). The first one she brought was the Lieutenant, followed by his pikachu. "Can this thing fly one of us out of here?" was the first thing he said. Although Angel could fly long distances she didn't have the ability to carry someone. He wasn't happy to hear that.

VENETIA: Isn't that a basic move that a flying pokémon from the army should have?

TUCKER: Angel's training was much more focused on understanding sophisticated orders than heavy duty. Today the army possesses every HM ever made, and they let every soldier freely use them, but at that time the pokémon would go through complex training to learn these moves.

VENETIA: And no other pokémon in your squadron knew Fly?

TUCKER: Yes, of course. Every American squadron that flew across the open sea had at least one pokémon with Fly and one with Surf. We had a palpitoad and a rufflet, but they didn't survive the crash. You see, after a while Angel reunited all of the surviving pilots. There were five of us, but except for me and Surge, no other pilot could save his or her personal pokémon. Only Pikachu and Angel made it. We were in great danger, Venetia. Not only could some wild pokémon come out of the forest, and sometimes snorlaxes were seen in that area, but we were also surrounded by two different enemies: Japanese soldiers and Team Smoke members.

VENETIA: Two pokémon would't be enough to protect five people, right?

TUCKER: Certainly not. And soon we only had Pikachu. We figured our only hope was to send Angel flying back to the headquarters, in Unova, to return with backup. We couldn't find something to write on, or with, so we made her carry my tag and a piece of orange stone from the ground of the harbor. One of Vermilion's trademarks. We knew it was risky, but we were desperate! Someone suggested we should use the cave as a shelter while the tranquill didn't return.

VENETIA: Diglett's Cave?

TUCKER: Yes. Inside, Surge told us to stand still. If we moved too much we would attract digletts or dugtrios. We checked our belongings and all we had left was food for two days, four revives, one repel can and one super potion. Someone suggested one person should use the repel to try to cross the cave, but nobody was sure one can would be enough. We also didn't know if arriving in another part of Kanto would help us in any way. Besides, electric pokémon are useless against Ground-types. Surge told his pikachu "Buddy, go to the city, be quick, use your electricity to check for voltorbs that have somehow survived the fall, they will be attracted by it, if they are not fainted. Bring them here. If you happen to find a fainted one, bring it anyway. Don't be there for more than an hour".

VENETIA: Wow, he could understand very complex orders too.

TUCKER: He couldn't. But nobody would be mad enough to disobey Lt. Surge!

VENETIA: (Laughs)

TUCKER: Just kidding. Yes, he was one of the most well-trained pokémon in the army. Before Pikachu left, Lt. Surge said: "if we survive, buddy, I will make you a raichu as soon as we get home. I don't care if it's too early". The pokémon returned after an hour or so, rolling three voltorbs, all fainted.

VENETIA: All the voltorbs would be fainted, wouldn't they? Self-destruct makes them faint, just like the fall would.

TUCKER: Not at that time. We wouldn't throw at the enemy a pokémon that could be reanimated and used against us. Self-destruct used to kill the user.

VENETIA: Oh! What about these three survivors? Did the move fail on them? I thought that attack had 100% chance of success.

TUCKER: And you're right. The ones that waited too long and hit the ground before self-destructing were the fainted ones. We dropped more than one hundred voltorbs in Vermilion, three is not a big number.

VENETIA: Did you use revive on all of them?

TUCKER: Yes, we did. Then Surge used the repel on himself to check out the area and work on some traps. He buried the voltorbs after telling them that they should self-destruct if they felt anyone stepping above them. One to the east of the Cave, one to the west and one near the entrance. We stayed inside, in silence, waiting for Angel for two days, until there was no food left. In the morning of the third day, Surge ordered his pikachu to go to the forest and find us some food. He came back after a while with a fainted pidgey. We didn't have a fire so Lt. Surge ordered him to bring some sticks, and we made sparks using the pokémon's electricity. Outside of the Cave, of course.

VENETIA: Wow! That's an useful pokémon.

TUCKER: He served well. At some point, the lieutenant said we could not wait for help anymore, and suggested another way. He was sure his plane was hit by a Supersonic attack, so the mechanism could have stopped even without damaging the structure. His plane fell into the woods, so there was a chance the trees weakened the fall. Maybe we could fix the motor. He sent Pikachu to search for it. Meanwhile, I went out of the Cave to get some air, I needed some time alone, but what I saw still haunts me to this day. Under a tree there was Angel's body.

VENETIA: What? Oh my goodness!

TUCKER: I ran to it and checked her heart. She was still alive. Three days she remained there, without food or water, fainted and burned. Besides her was the orange stone and my tag. Next to her were the tracks of what looked like a big, hurt pokémon. A two-footed creature with one hurt leg. Probably broken. It was dragging a tail on the ground.

VENETIA: Oh my! That charizard from before? Was he alive?

TUCKER: Yes. Maybe all that smoke kept me from seeing him attacking Angel before she could even leave the area. When I brought her Inside, I didn't have to ask, they let me use the last revive on her.

VENETIA: I'm so glad you made it, Angel.

UNFEAZANT: (Cry)

VENETIA: (Laughs) She's so adorable! So, what happened next?

TUCKER: At that point we were discussing if burying the voltorbs had been a good idea or a waste of pokémon. We considered unburying them, but nobody was sure we could just stand next to them and say "we will unbury you, please don't explode", so we thought it was too risky. (Laughs).

VENETIA: (Laughs).

TUCKER: That's when a loud "boom" interrupted our discussion. Someone had stepped on one of our traps. One of us went to check it out. It was a small group of Japanese soldiers. The explosion took care of most of them, but there were five people standing on their feet. And two pokémon: a raticate and a sandshrew. They were coming our way, and would pass near the cave and see that a fire had been made recently. We decided we would wait inside, and if they entered the cave, we would battle.

VENETIA: Just to recap, Pikachu was out there looking for the plane, and Angel was hurt. Revive only restores, like, half of the HP, right?

TUCKER: Yes, but their pokémon were hurt as well, from the explosion.

VENETIA: Ok.

TUCKER: They entered. I immediately told Angel to quick attack the raticate. She made a critical hit! The sandshrew attacked her with Mud Shot, that obviously missed, while the raticate hyper fanged her, but didn't take her down. She finished the raticate with another Quick Attack. The sandshrew poison stung her, but he fainted after only one of Angel's Air Cutter.

VENETIA: Victory!

TUCKER: Yes! The enemy soldiers ran the moment sandshrew fainted.

VENETIA: Weren't they five, just like you?

TUCKER: Yes, but five people are no match for five people and a hurt pokémon.

VENETIA: (Laughs).

TUCKER: They ran and Angel stood there, laying on the ground. She was poisoned. The other guys didn't let me use the super potion. It was our last item and it wouldn't cure her poison. We would wait until we thought she was about to faint.

UNFEAZANT: (Cry)

TUCKER: We left the cave and looked around us. No sign of Pikachu. "He's probably lost", said Surge. "And we have to leave this place right now! They'll bring reinforcements. After we leave, Pikachu will have even less chance of finding us. Tucker, use Angel to find him and bring him back to us! She'll find us later, right? Doesn't matter where we are. Tranquills always find their owner."

VENETIA: Did you let them? Because after that potion thing...

TUCKER: I did. I looked Angel in the eyes and told her to search for both Pikachu and the plane. If she ever though she would pass out from the poisoning, she should come back immediately. This time she flew without being attacked by anything.

VENETIA: What about you? Where did you go?

TUCKER: We entered the forest, for the city would certainly be filled with even more danger. We walked until it was dark, and had to sleep in the woods, with no shelter.

VENETIA: Do you know " _Between Berries and Smoke_ "? Leopold's book? We talked about it in the last episode.

TUCKER: Yes, I remember it.

VENETIA: There's a whole chapter about some days he spent alone in Vermilion woods. It's my favorite part. He didn't even have something to cover himself with at night. And according to him it was freezing. Is Vermilion that cold? I've never been there.

TUCKER: At night, in the woods? Yes, it's cold.

VENETIA: How many nights did you spend there?

TUCKER: Only one. In the morning we woke up in a very scary way. Surrounded by people we didn't know.

VENETIA: Who?

TUCKER: People from Vermilion. But they didn't attack us, or anything. In fact, they fed us. That group had run to the forest to escape from Team Smoke. They told us how the criminals came with hundreds of pokémon and outnumbered any authority that could have stopped them. Now people in the city were forced to work for them. Those we met were the lucky ones that found a way to escape. They all had relatives in the city, so they stood there, in the forest, watching the town from a distance, instead of leaving. After the bombing, some took a chance and explored the ruins, but most of them came back empty handed. Although they learned that Team Smoke's administration of the city was chaotic and fragile after the destruction.

VENETIA: I'm so sorry for those people. So the population was not dangerous after all, right?

TUCKER: No, they weren't. Not for us. We waited for Angel and Pikachu until noon, when we heard some noises.

VENETIA: What noises?

TUCKER: Steps in the grass. Before we could do anything, members of Team Smoke appeared. Four, I guess. All with pokéballs in their hands and belts. It was the first time I saw real pokéballs. One of them said some bad pun about the moment. The other said we would all die and threw a pokéball. At that exact moment, Angel appeared out of nowhere and fell on the grass, unable to fight. Surge's pikachu ran right to the middle of the group of criminals and gave them the most well-done thunder wave I have ever seen. Every single one of the criminals, the four of them, completely paralyzed. The pokéball one of them had throw before hit the ground and opened, releasing a primeape. The monkey stood there, waiting for it's owner's orders, that never came. We all went crazy and cheered for the first time in days.

VENETIA: That's great.

TUCKER: All of the criminals had backpacks with them. They were filled with pokéballs and food. We took one and left the others to the Vermilion citizens.

VENETIA: And the primeape just watched?

TUCKER: Yes, he was really confused. (Laughs). We searched the bag with more caution and confirmed it had nothing but food and pokéballs. Angel was almost fainting, so I put her inside one until we found a way of healing her.

VENETIA: She would not survive fainted and poisoned outside of a pokéball, right?

TUCKER: Certainly not.

VENETIA: Did Surge capture his pikachu, too?

TUCKER: Not yet. He asked the pokémon if they had found the airplane and Pikachu nodded! We let him guide us. The people from Vermilion also left the place, because those Team Smoke members would soon be able to move again.

VENETIA: Did they join you?

TUCKER: No. They decided to stay nearby the city, hoping someday they would be able to rescue their relatives. But they promised to tell everyone what we had done for them. I don't have to tell you how respected Lt. Surge is in Vermilion now, right?

VENETIA: No, you don't. So, did you find the plane?

TUCKER: Not yet. Halfway there the charizard appeared! Out of nowhere! He was hurt, had one eye closed and the fire from his tail was almost extinct. He roared and ran right after me with his mouth open. When he was almost on to me, something hit him. A pokéball. He was sucked to it. The pokéball rolled a little bit and stopped with a "click". Lt. Surge had just captured his very first pokémon. We released him and used the super potion. That charizard knew the move Fly, he could take us on his back. Thank you, random Japanese soldier that used to own him! The lizard flew Surge to the plane, with Pikachu guiding the way. He then took each of us there, one by one.

VENETIA: Sorry, Mr. Tucker, I'm loving your story, but we are really out of time here. Can you try to shorten this last part?

TUCKER: Sure. We got to the plane and fixed what we could. After a while we were sure it could fly. One of us stood inside, trying to start the motors while Pikachu powered the battery, until it finally worked. Even squeezing ourselves, there was no way more than two people would fit the plane, so a couple of our colleagues rode it to Unova. They took Angel's pokéball with them, to revive and cure her, so she could show the future reinforcements where we were. Lt. Surge ordered the charizard to fly alongside the plane, protecting it no matter what, and gave his pokéball to the pilot. The remaining ones, myself, Lt. Surge and another soldier, stood there with only Pikachu to protect us. He was now resting inside a pokéball. With him we were able to capture wild creatures, and eventually built a great team. We took the city back from Team Smoke before Angel came back with the American help and saved us all! The end, I guess!

VENETIA: Wow, what a story! I almost had, like, five heart attacks! Unfortunately we don't have any more time. You're invited to come back any day, after _World War Week_ , to talk about how you took the city back from Team Smoke. That seems like a great tale, too!

TUCKER: That would be a pleasure, Venetia. It's a long story as well. We became very attached to the Japanese people. Even more than I already was. Well, we chose to live here after the war, right? (Laughs)

VENETIA: Does Lt. Surge still own that charizard?

TUCKER: The American army used him until the last years of the war. After America and Japan joined forces against Team Smoke, Surge gave him back to the Japanese Army.

VENETIA: That's very nice of him. Mr. Tucker, thank you for this wonderful tale!

TUCKER: Thank you, Venetia!

VENETIA: Good-bye!

TUCKER: Bye-bye!

VENETIA: Well, folks, that's it for the second episode of _World War Week_! Tomorrow we will interview Leopold Darrell again. This time he will tell us about his connection with two very special legendary pokémon I'm sure you all love. Have a nice Tuesday!


	3. Wednesday

POKÉ WORLD WAR

 **Wednesday**

The following has been transcribed by the _Pokémon Channel_ _Radio Station_ crew in order to archive the _World War Week Special_.

VENETIA: Good morning, everybody! Welcome to another episode of our special show _World War Week_! It's World War Wednesday! Today we'll listen to Leopold Darrell, our first and only recurrent guest. Welcome, Leopold!

LEOPOLD: Hi, Venetia.

VENETIA: How's your stay here in Goldenrod?

LEOPOLD: Nice.

VENETIA: Great! The first topic I would like to hear about is the terrible pokémon file destruction by Team Smoke. You were in the organization during this time, right?

LEOPOLD: Yeah, Venetia, I was part of it.

VENETIA: What exactly was this act?

LEOPOLD: Hm... Team Smoke wanted to have all the pokémon knowledge for itself. That way no one would ever be able to catch up with us, to stand up against our team.

VENETIA: And how was this done, exactly?

LEOPOLD: We traveled in great numbers, armed with strong monsters, wrecking or stealing any pokémon information we could find. Venetia, you know I'm not proud of this, right?

VENETIA: Don't worry, Leopold.

LEOPOLD: We invaded people's houses and broke all the computers and burned all the books. Even if they weren't pokémon books, you know, we didn't always had the time to check. We completely destroyed research labs. I already paid for all of this. In a lot of ways.

VENETIA: I know, Leopold. Now, a lot of information at the time was online, right?

LEOPOLD: Yeah. But Team Smoke found a way to get rid of it too. They just had to smash some computers abroad.

VENETIA: All the main servers were in Unova. Did you go there to carry out this job?

LEOPOLD: Not me. I know one of the guys that was part of it, but I wasn't. I never left Kanto during my time as a criminal.

VENETIA: Was this whole process just to get rid of information? Seems a little too much for me.

LEOPOLD: And you read in my book that it wasn't, right? (Laughs). With this job they were also making people stop hiding their pokémon from us on computers. That was happening. And some people also were hiding monsters online or even sending them to other people at the time. Few people knew that, but we did.

VENETIA: Ok. Leopold, Mew is my favorite pokémon ever, so another moment of your life I really, really, want to talk about is his capture and the creation of Mewtwo! What was your role in the whole thing? Have you actually seen Mew?

LEOPOLD: Sure, I saw Mew and Mewtwo several times. Hm... It all started in one of these violent trips we used to do. I was there the first time Team Smoke stepped on Cinnabar Island. A real-life paradise at the time. Beautiful beaches and a hot sun.

VENETIA: That was before the volcano eruption?

LEOPOLD: Yeah. We arrived there by sea and completely thrashed the...

VENETIA: Did you use your poliwrath to get there?

LEOPOLD: (Laughs) Yeah! Do you remember him from Monday?

VENETIA: (Laughs) Yes.

LEOPOLD: I used him to swim all the way there. So, hm... We completely thrashed the inside of their lab. The city offered little resistance and we quickly conquered it. It was easy because Blaine was somewhere else at the time. We left a few members there to rule the city, like we always did, and returned to Saffron with some new pokémon and some pokémon data we gathered.

VENETIA: What kind of data?

LEOPOLD: Hm... Researches made in the lab, mostly. But analyzing it, later, someone found an unusual diary of a doctor. The guy was obsessed with this legend about a mythical creature that lived in the forests of South America. According to the story, it could get invisible at will and would only appear to people who were pure in heart and really wanted to see it. The scientist had years of notes on that diary! He was sure the creature was real, and it was a pokémon! Hm... At that point people were already calling them pokémon, even though they were wild. If it could go into a pokéball it was a pokémon.

VENETIA: I see. Who was this scientist?

LEOPOLD: I won't tell, sorry. He haven't gone public with this story and I respect that.

VENETIA: Ok. No problem.

LEOPOLD: So, hm... You could see he was a kindhearted person by reading his diary. His love for pokémon was so strong! And he wanted to see Mew more than anyone else. If there was someone in the world that could make the little guy appear, was this doctor. A group of people inside the organization became interested in going back to Cinnabar to check on him. Maybe the scientist was still alive. We could try to join forces with him. Maybe take him to South America to capture the monster with us. We thought it would be easy to convince him. It was an opportunity to make all his years of work worthy! And after all he could join our team of scientists. We would let him study Mew! The Big Boss approved an expedition back to Cinnabar, but only because we hadn't received any reports from the team left in the island. Someone should go back there to check it out, anyway.

VENETIA: And you were in the group that went back there?

LEOPOLD: Yeah.

VENETIA: How big was it?

LEOPOLD: Hm... Like, twenty people, I guess. Between twenty and thirty.

VENETIA: And you went by sea again?

LEOPOLD: Yeah. We arrived at night on the island.

VENETIA: What did you find there?

LEOPOLD: We found the house we used as headquarters in ruins and the lab we had destroyed almost new. Some citizens laughed when they saw us, others cursed. It became clear to us that the members we had left there were already dead.

VENETIA: Did you know any of these members?

LEOPOLD: Yeah. Some of them.

VENETIA: I'm so sorry. What did you do then?

LEOPOLD: We ran. Thirty people would never be enough to fight whatever happened to them. When we were almost reaching the shore we heard a gallop beside us. It was Blaine, riding his rapidash with his arcanine beside him. He had returned. Following him were hundreds of Cinnabar citizens.

VENETIA: Wow!

LEOPOLD: Blaine fire attacked us all. Most of us were quick enough to release our pokémon. So they took the hit in our place. But a couple of friends didn't make it.

VENETIA: I'm so sorry about them. Did you use your poliwrath again?

LEOPOLD: Yeah. And all my friends had Water-type pokémon with them too. Hm... You know what I never understood about Cinnabar Island? The easier way to get there is surfing. So most people that visit the island have a strong water pokémon, right? Why was the gym a Fire-type? It never made sense to me.

VENETIA: I could be wrong, but I think fire is very symbolic for them due to the volcano.

LEOPOLD: Maybe.

VENETIA: There's also some story about a Fire-type pokémon saving Blaine's life. Anyway, what happened then?

LEOPOLD: Hm... It wasn't hard to defeat the arcanine and the rapidash with all those Water-type pokémon. Then Blaine's ponyta and growlithe catched up and joined the battle, only to be defeated too. He was not a hard enemy, but by the time the four fire pokémon had fainted, his people were already on us, using monsters of every kind. I remember a pikachu and a vileplume attacking my poliwrath at the same time. Horrible.

VENETIA: Do you have any idea how many people were in this battle?

LEOPOLD: Hm... Less than thirty on our side... hundreds on theirs. But most of them had only one pokémon, while every member of Team Smoke had at least twelve.

VENETIA: Sound like and epic battle to me.

LEOPOLD: It was. But I didn't see the end of it. In the middle of the confusion I made eye contact with an enemy drowzee that put me to sleep. I woke up on the beach when the sun was already setting. My friends and I were tied to logs on the sand. Laid down. Blaine was interrogating us, saying that the tide would rise soon and we would all die, unless we answered him.

VENETIA: The Hotheaded Quiz Master has never been a better nickname. What was he asking about?

LEOPOLD: Things about our organization.

VENETIA: Did you give him any answers?

LEOPOLD: No. Not at all. We were Team Smoke. You can't torture Team Smoke.

VENETIA: And what happened?

LEOPOLD: They left and we stood on the shore, with the waves breaking on our feet. I'm not sure how long we were there. A few hours maybe. In the middle of the night, while we struggled to free ourselves, we saw the most scary thing of our lives. First, there was what seemed like a pokémon cry. One of my friends started to scream. Then I saw it. Walking along the shore, toward us, was a monster so creepy I don't even know how to start describing it! It was... Hm... It was not from this world. Hm... It had all these... Moving... Dots...

VENETIA: Do you mind if read the paragraph in which you describe it in your book? I remember it stunned me!

LEOPOLD: Not at all.

VENETIA: Let me see... One minute... Here we go! "Approaching our tied selves, sliding trough the wet sand like a wheeled column, a ten feet fragmented monster appeared. It had no face or other recognizable body part. It was just a big block of static." Wow!

LEOPOLD: I'm sure a lot of listeners will doubt what I'm saying, Venetia, and I cannot prove it, but it happened.

VENETIA: But you're not the only one that saw it, right?

LEOPOLD: No, I'm not, but everyone else had serious problems after a while. I suffered from a strong headache, hallucinated a little bit. Got sick. But that was nothing. Most of the other guys had severe amnesia. Some of them went completely crazy.

VENETIA: That's tough.

LEOPOLD: The monster walked over a friend of mine, that instantly died, smashed in the sand. Everyone was shouting for their lives. The monster became cloaked in a harsh light and a few seconds later shot a ray of energy into another guy. It ripped one of his arms out. I still remember his screams. But it also destroyed the log he was attached to. As soon as he found himself free he ran to the pile of backpacks near us, bleeding, got the first filled pokéball he found and threw it in the ground. A scyther came out of it. My scyther!

VENETIA: Leif!

LEOPOLD: Yeah! I shouted "Leif, slash the weird monster", and he did it. I guess it was a critical hit because the creature was clearly shaken up. The guy that had freed himself found an empty pokéball and captured the monster.

VENETIA: He captured a new specie! I wonder how much money he could get with that pokémon.

LEOPOLD: Me too. But he didn't get anything. You could see the madness in his eyes while he continued to search our baggage, blood spilling from where his right arm should be. We were shouting for him to save us, but he seemed too impressed with the content of the bags to listen. He found one of his pokéball, released his noctowl and flew carrying as much bags as he could. I wish I had ordered Leif to follow him, or to attack him, but I asked the scyther to freed us, and by the time he finished the guy was far away.

VENETIA: What happened to him?

LEOPOLD: He lost his mind. Got completely crazy. At least that's what I've been told. And after some months he released the monster in the same shore we found him. I cannot say if that's true or not.

VENETIA: Weird. Hey, do you think Blaine and the folks from the city knew about the monster? Maybe they weren't really trying to drown you guys. Maybe they left you there to see what would happen!

LEOPOLD: They were trying to get us killed. I don't care about how they planned to do this.

VENETIA: What about the bags? The guy didn't take all of them with him, right?

LEOPOLD: He left only one behind. Inside, we found the essential items a Team Smoke member would carry around, like food and pokéballs but, for some reason, there were a lot of revives. A lot of them!

VENETIA: How many?

LEOPOLD: More than a hundred! It barely fit the backpack. With that many revives it wasn't hard to took the city back. Even though we were only fifteen people now.

VENETIA: What happened to Blaine after that?

LEOPOLD: We took him to The Big Boss. I don't know what else happened to him. But he's well today, as you know.

VENETIA: Ok. Let's focus here. Mew. Did you find the doctor?

LEOPOLD: Yeah, in the reconstructing lab. We tried to convince him to join us. The guy was shy, but very stubborn. We offered a lot to him, but he would not help Team Smoke. Our only option was to kidnap him. Another group of Team Smoke members took him to some far away island in Guyana to try to capture mew.

VENETIA: What do you know about the expedition?

LEOPOLD: I know they wandered about a week through a tropical jungle. And I know the legendary pokémon appeared at some point.

VENETIA: Maybe the doctor didn't want to encounter mew at first, because he would be helping Team Smoke, but after a week in the jungle he fell that finding the pokémon was his only hope, so mew appeared!

LEOPOLD: Maybe.

VENETIA: Everyone saw Mew?

LEOPOLD: Yes. I saw him too, at some point.

VENETIA: So you don't need to be pure at heart to see him. Maybe you need to be kind just to make him appear, but after that everyone can see him!

LEOPOLD: Yeah. Or maybe this whole thing is just bullshit. Can I say bullshit?

VENETIA: No.

LEOPOLD: Sorry.

VENETIA: So, how did they capture Mew? With a regular pokéball?

LEOPOLD: Yeah. That's the only thing we got until the end of the war. No greatball or anything. I imagine they attacked with several pokémon at the same time, some of them putting him to sleep. That's what we did to capture strong pokémon.

VENETIA: Poor thing.

LEOPOLD: They took him to Cinnabar Island. Team Smoke made all kinds of experiments with him in an old mansion. I think it was the doctor's house. He stood there the whole time, as a captive.

VENETIA: Can you tell us what was the final goal of the experiments? Was creating Mewtwo the plan all along?

LEOPOLD: The plan, at first, was to study him. Team Smoke had great scientists. They wanted to know what made him so special. And they found out about the DNA thing, you know? He got every pokémon DNA inside him, or something like that. And he could learn any move. Then The Big Boss wanted to create a new pokémon. A pokémon only Team Smoke had! It wouldn't be the first man-made pokémon, you know? People were already making voltorbs and magnemites.

VENETIA: What about porygon?

LEOPOLD: Not yet, I think. Anyway, this was an opportunity to create the perfect pokémon! They took out his DNA... Or hers, I don't know... I'm saying "him" until now, but they impregnated mew, so...

VENETIA: Mew was genderless. I mean, _mews_ _are_ genderless. I'm sure there are others. Call it anyway you want.

LEOPOLD: Well, they took the creature's DNA and tinkered with it to make it stronger. I'm sorry, I wished I could explain this in a better way, but I'm no scientist.

VENETIA: Don't worry.

LEOPOLD: They impregnated mew with his own DNA. A clone. After some time, an egg appeared. In my book there are testimonies about this subject from scientists that used to work for Team Smoke. People that want to know more about this should read it. So, Mew laid an egg. After some days, it hatched.

VENETIA: Were you there to see it hatching?

LEOPOLD: No, I wasn't. But I saw both the egg and the baby. And I was there when it all went wrong.

VENETIA: What went wrong? I mean, I'm sure everybody knows what Mewtwo did, but it would be great to hear your point of view.

LEOPOLD: Well, I'm not sure I can give anyone a new perspective. Hm... Some months after the egg hatched, maybe half a year, the whole island woke up to these explosions and screams. A couple of friends and I ran to the mansion to see what was going on. We found the building wrecked in several parts. The sadder view was inside. Before, the place had been decorated with statues of what Mewtwo was supposed to look like. The bodies of many of our friends were scattered around that creepy palace, filled with images of the pokémon who had killed them all. We found the doctor, agonizing. We also found mew's pokéball. During the attack nobody was able to reach that ball to make Mew fight for the humans. We ran to Saffron City to deliver both man and pokémon to The Big Boss, and tell him what had happened!

VENETIA: How that went?

LEOPOLD: Not good. We went to Fuchsia by sea, took one of our trucks and headed to Saffron. A friend of mine drove. Five or six people were in the back with the doctor and I stood in the passenger seat, with the precious pokéball. We went through Route 15, then 14, 13... We could have gone through Lavender Town, but we chose to go through Vermilion. Both cities were a mess at the time, but we though we still ruled Vermilion, so we went that way. When we were passing near the harbor something exploded underneath us and sent the truck to the air!

VENETIA: Wait! In front of the harbor? After passing through Diglett's Cave?

LEOPOLD: Exactly! We rolled...

VENETIA: Leopold! Have you listened to yesterday's episode?

LEOPOLD: What? Of the show? No, Venetia. I'm sorry.

VENETIA: We might have... Leopold, I think... I mean... I think I know what caused this explosion!

LEOPOLD: What?

VENETIA: I... I'll give you a copy of yesterday's episode, in tape, or in text, if our crew transcript it quickly enough, and you draw your own conclusions, ok? Let's not make a big deal out of this!

LEOPOLD: Ok.

VENETIA: Please, go on!

LEOPOLD: Hm... The explosion threw the truck off the road and made it roll a couple of times through the wooden port, until it landed on a sandbank. My face was all sticky with blood and my head ached. I thought I had Mew's pokéball pressed agains my chest, but couldn't find it anymore. The driver, my friend, was all crooked in his sit, dead. I tried to leave, but the door wouldn't open. After the dust settled outside, I got out through the broken window. There were pieces of vehicle scattered all around. I found mew's pokéball in the sand, open and empty. I went to the back of the truck to check the crew. Everybody was either dead or hurt. The doctor wasn't there. I checked the opposite side of the truck, the driver's side. There, on the ground, I saw mew, dead. Not fainted like your generation sees pokémon all the time. Dead. At his side was the scientist on his knees. Lots of blood in the sand, from man and pokémon alike. The doctor was trembling, playing his pokéflute, while tears ran down his face. But the pokémon would not wake up. At that point I decided to leave the crime life forever.

VENETIA: I... I'm so sorry. Remembering this must be terrifying. What did you do?

LEOPOLD: I ran. I didn't want to face the boss after that, so I ran hoping I would never have to see another Team Smoke member in my life.

VENETIA: What happened to the people that stood there?

LEOPOLD: I heard that the doctor kept the survivors alive until help arrived.

VENETIA: Who came to help?

LEOPOLD: They were rescued by Lt. Surge and the people who ruled Vermilion at the time. The survivors were arrested, except for the doctor, of course.

VENETIA: You really should listen to yesterday's episode. Is the doctor well?

LEOPOLD: Yes. He doesn't answer by _doctor_ anymore. He lives a calm life in Lavender Town, taking care of abandoned pokémon.

VENETIA: What about you? Where did you go?

LEOPOLD: I lived in the wild for a couple of days. There, I realize the first step to truly change my life would be to hand myself to the police. When I did, I promised to tell them everything I could to help them destroy Team Smoke. And I really did. That's how I got my sentence reduced, although I had to stay in prison for more than I would like to. I came out of prison after the war had ended. On my first day as a free man I got my book proposal.

VENETIA: I have to say that the chapter about this period you lived in the wild is great. What about mew's body?

LEOPOLD: I think the doctor made something with it. But I don't know what. Nobody knows. Maybe he kept it for himself. Maybe he made a funeral, burying or drowning it. I don't know.

VENETIA: It's so sad we don't even have a body.

LEOPOLD: Yeah. Oh! But the truck stood there for a long time! Do you know this story? Maybe it's still there.

VENETIA: What? How?

LEOPOLD: Team Smoke never came back for it. After the war authorities found out there was a chance some of mew's DNA might be in there. Mew's fur is so fine and thin it can only be seen under a microscope. They completely isolated and protected that small sandbank! I haven't been in Vermilion for a long time, but last time I was there, you could see the truck if you looked east!

VENETIA: Wow, that's awesome! If you are listening to this show in Vermilion right now, or maybe you're going there any time soon, look for this truck! It might be your last chance to see it. Well, It has been an honor talking to you again, Leopold!

LEOPOLD: The honor is mine, Venetia!

VENETIA: Hope you have a wonderful return to Kanto!

LEOPOLD: Thanks!

VENETIA: That was Leopold Darrell, my friends! Thank you for listening to another episode of _World War Week_! Tomorrow we'll be back with a very special guest! I don't want to spoil the surprise, but I think some of you have already guessed it! Goodbye!


	4. Thursday

POKÉ WORLD WAR

 **Thursday**

The following has been transcribed by the _Pokémon Channel_ _Radio Station_ crew in order to archive the _World War Week Special_.

VENETIA: Hi, everybody! This is your host, DJ Venetia, and you're listening to another episode of _Word War Week_! Before we start today's interview, I would like to share a little research of mine. Yesterday, Leopold said their truck exploded near Diglett's Cave. That's the same place Surge made a trap with a voltorb, according to Mr. Tucker, right? I found out that, after the war ended, Lt. Surge hired a specialized team to unbury those voltorbs. It turns out one was still there. Since he buried three and one exploded on the Japanese troops and the other was rescued by him, we have a missing voltorb, right? So the explosion that pushed Leopold's truck out of the road could very well be one of Surge's traps! We discovered brand-new information about the war! Yay! Now, without further ado, I would like to introduce this week's guest. He was already a major figure in the pokémon world during the war and has a show at this very radio station. You probably guessed already, right? This week's guest is no other than my good old friend Professor Oak! Old in a good way!

OAK: (Laughs).

VENETIA: Welcome, professor!

OAK: Hello there! Thank you for inviting me! It's a pleasure to be on your show! First, What's your name?

VENETIA: What?

OAK: What's your name?

VENETIA: (Brief silence). Professor, it's me, Venetia. We've been working together for years!

OAK: Ah! Sorry, Venetia. l brought you a present, but I need to set it up first. For official reasons I would need to ask your name even if we knew each other for all our lives. "Venetia" has seven characters, how convenient. Otherwise you'd have to abbreviate.

VENETIA: Oh! A gift? What is it? Let me see!

OAK: Here. Your own HANDY505, the very first Pokédex model ever created!

VENETIA: Wow! That's awesome!

OAK: You're lucky I didn't bring some newer model, otherwise I would have to ask you if you're a boy or a girl! (Laughs). Did you like it?

VENETIA: I loved it!

OAK: Wonderful!

VENETIA: I wish you guys at home could see it. It's bright red and It has this retro look about it. Thank you very much, professor!

OAK: You're welcome, Venetia. Congratulations on hosting the show. You're doing great.

VENETIA: Thank you! Have you been listening?

OAK: Of course! Every episode.

VENETIA: I'm so glad! Ok, now, to the interview!

OAK: Let's go!

VENETIA: Professor Oak, assuming some of our listeners lived all their lives inside Dark Cave and never heard about you, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

OAK: My name is Samuel Oak and I'm a Pokémon Professor. Today I'm responsible for Kanto's main research lab and I co-host a radio program called _Professor Oak's Pokémon Talk_. I was once a popular pokémon trainer, but I'm better known for inventing the Pokédex.

VENETIA: Now, I want to focus the show on the wartime, but can you tell us just a little bit about your phase as a pokémon trainer? Some of our younger audience might not be familiar with it.

OAK: Like most people that work with pokémon, my passion started when I was a child with a pet...

VENETIA: Which pet? Sorry for interrupting you.

OAK: I had a growlithe.

VENETIA: Very popular pet in Kanto, I heard.

OAK: It is. On my tenth birthday I finally became a trainer. I won Kanto's eight badges by the time I was thirteen and by the age of fifteen I beat the Elite Four.

VENETIA: Impressive. What was your team at the time? Wait! Let's see if I can remember! Hm... A taurus, a gyarados, an exeggutor... How many were in your team?

OAK: Four.

VENETIA: I can't remember the last one.

OAK: It was my old buddy, that had already evolved into an arcanine.

VENETIA: Right! I remember now!

OAK: How do you know all this stuff?

VENETIA: I listen to a lot of records of classic fights. Perks of working at theTower. But why only four pokémon? I remember not understanding this while listening. The Indigo League's rules already allowed six pokémon, right?

OAK: Yes. I had lots of pokémon, but I liked to train only a few at a time. That way I could really focus on them. It used to work.

VENETIA: Maybe the trainer's blood runs in the family. You grandson was Kanto's Elite Four's champion for some time, right?

OAK: Yes, he was. For a brief time.

VENETIA: How's he doing?

OAK: He's doing great. Studying in Kalos.

VENETIA: What's his name?

OAK: He's name is... (Brief silence) Er-hem... Let's... Just...

VENETIA: Ok, moving on... Where were you during the war?

OAK: Hm... I spent most of the wartime in my lab, in Pallet Town, studying and helping the government as best as I could. After the attacks that devastated the town and almost killed me, I exiled myself to a place called Pokémon Island, where I built a new lab.

VENETIA: Pokémon Island? Never heard about it.

OAK: No wonder. It's a small, little-known, volcanic island near Kanto. It was once inhabited by humans, but it's a nature reserve today. More than fifty kinds of pokémon live there, in the wild.

VENETIA: It seems like such a dreamy place.

OAK: It is. Excellent place to study the creatures in their natural habitat! It has a river, a volcano, beaches... As part of the Pokémon Data Recovery Program I've organized a photographic expedition through the island. It was wonderful! I'll show you some pictures another time.

VENETIA: I would love to see them. Now, you made all kinds of contributions after the war, but you were especially important on the technology field. Can you tell us a bit about this aspect of the post-war?

OAK: The pokéball had changed the world. To transform a living creature into a computer's code. Can you imagine how revolutionary this was?

VENETIA: It must have been crazy. How does this mechanism work?

OAK: Well, Venetia, I can't tell you much about technology per se. Sorry. I can talk about how it changed our lives, though. People think I'm a computer geek, but they couldn't be more wrong. My contributions were idealistic. The Pokédex, for example, I conceptualized the device, but I wouldn't be able to produce it without a team of young geniuses working with me. You were very sweet to say, in the first episode, that I always come to Goldenrod to record the show so I can have company, but the truth is I couldn't do it on my own. I'm bad with technology. I always think I will break everything. (Laughs).

VENETIA: (Laughs).

OAK: I like technology, but I grew up studying pokémon and human relationship and that's what I'm passionate about. For your generation, pokémon and technology are interconnected, but not for mine.

VENETIA: Ok. Let's back up a little bit. You mentioned young geniuses. Tell us about them.

OAK: During the war, a group of kids went to Kanto's Lab to show me their new invention: a way to transfer the code of a pokémon captured by a pokéball to a personal computer. According to them, this would allow anyone to withdraw their pokémon and even trade the creatures among themselves from anywhere in the world.

VENETIA: Promising.

OAK: The problem is that they showed up during the time I was exiled. Professor Elm was managing the reconstruction of Kanto's Lab, but they refused to show their invention to anyone but me.

VENETIA: Ok.

OAK: Later, working at the lab again, I read all the reports about the time I was away. That's when I found out about them. But I was so busy at the time that there was nothing I could do.

VENETIA: So, how did you meet them?

OAK: A couple of months before the war ended, a box from Silph Company arrived at the lab's door. They were expecting us to do a report on a new product they wanted to commercialize. It was a box that could fit a pokéball and had a compact disk socket. It was a prototype of a TM Case. They sent us four or five disks too, so we could test it. We weren't sure how to deal with it because the instructions came in a very technical pamphlet. According to it, the pokémon would learn moves automatically. I couldn't understand how was that possible. We were afraid we would hurt the pokémon, or something. No assistant of mine seemed confident enough about how to deal with that.

VENETIA: Today TMs and HMs seem like such trivial concepts, but I can imagine how confusing it was back them. So, what did you do?

OAK: I called for the kids! If they came I would be able to check out their invention, and maybe they could give us a little hand with that weird box. We managed to track them and brought them to Pallet Town.

VENETIA: Who were they?

OAK: A bunch of youngster. I'm sure you heard about most of them. The one that stood out was Bill, always acting like the leader. The same Bill you're thinking of. The poké maniac! He and Cassius, a young boy from Kalos, seemed very close. They both dressed and acted like rebels, but you could see it was just a phase.

VENETIA: And they helped you with the TM Case?

OAK: Yes. With their help, my team finally mastered that technology and was able to make a report about TMs. We classified them as safe. In a matter of days the armies of every allied country were using pokémon with Surf, Fly and several other strong attacks that could be taught with TMs, while Team Smoke counted only with moves naturally learned by their pokémon.

VENETIA: So this one report was very important to ending the war, right?.

OAK: Oh! I don't think the government approved the TMs based solely on our opinion, but I like to think that we contributed to it.

VENETIA: What about the kid's invention? Did it work?

OAK: Ah! It worked very well! They brought their own computer to the lab to show me what they were doing. One of them, a girl named Brigette, was using it to communicate with her little sister in Hoenn. I had never seen anything like that! A server, home-made by kids, was functional enough to trade information between two different regions? So, right in front of me, she traded her skitty with her sister's zigzagoon, used one of the sample TMs to teach him a new move and traded back. Outstanding! Those kids had not only built a private computer network, independent from the destroyed servers in Unova, but were doing things with it I couldn't even imagine were possible! That's the origin of the several Pokémon Storage Systems across the regions.

VENETIA: I didn't know the details of that story! Those kids are so brilliant! I can't even imagine how would it be like to have such intellect in such a young age!

OAK: They were excellent! I saw their idea as safety device. Keeping all those pokémon and pokémon data stored in several independent systems, uncentralized, protected by different people, but, maybe, in the future, interconnected, somehow.

VENETIA: That could stop a future loss of data like the one that had just happened, right? How did you show their idea to the world?

OAK: I had my chance at one of the League of the Nations meetings. I got to...

VENETIA: Wait. Can you tell us a little bit about the context of these meetings?

OAK: Sure! After the war ended, a peace conference happened in Lumiose City... Have you ever been to Lumiose City, Venetia?

VENETIA: Yes, I have! It's so wonderful! One of the most beautiful places I've ever been to!

OAK: Well, someone agrees with you. Someone with the power to decide who will live and who will die during the war. Even though Team Smoke occupied the city at some point, Lumiose City was never bombed. Since it was one of the few functional capitals after the war, it hosted this big meeting called Lumiose City Peace Conference. There, a group called League of the Nations, composed of world leaders, scientists and other influential groups, was created. Their goal was to achieve world peace and security. Several meetings happened in their headquarters, in Castelia. Of course, pokémon were a recurrent subject there. And the use of pokémon at wars was very discussed. Was it ethical? Should it be banned? What other choices did we have?

VENETIA: Do you think it's ethical?

OAK: What? Of course not!

VENETIA: So you supported the idea that pokémon should be banned from wars?

OAK: No, I didn't.

VENETIA: Why?

OAK: I hate seeing pokémon fighting at wars, of course, but.…Is there something you like to see fighting in the war?

VENETIA: (Silence)

OAK: I mean, do you like to see humans fighting in the war?

VENETIA: No, but...

OAK: So, you think humans should be banned from wars too?

VENETIA: Well, I mean, if there was a way... this doesn't really make sense... What's your point?

OAK: My point is that war is always bad. It's always a tragedy, doesn't matter who is fighting. We should worry about not making any more wars instead of worrying about how they are fought.

VENETIA: But don't you think it's extra cruelty making pokémon fight for us?

OAK: Do you think regular pokémon battles shouldn't exist? They're fighting for us all the same. Don't you think it's kind of contradictory to be against pokémon in wars but in favor of pokémon battles?

VENETIA: It's different! Pokémon battle all the time in the wild! That's how they are! Making war isn't their nature! Nobody would consider abolishing pokémon battles!

OAK: Well, actually, that was very discussed in those meetings too. I was against abolishing it.

VENETIA: Really? But it's a completely different thing, in my opinion. In a normal battle, one trainer will even help the adversary pokémon if something bad happens. In a war there's no reason why one wouldn't kill the enemy pokémon. Pokémon at war is cruelty and should be illegal. Do you think using them for war is fair?

OAK: Of course I do not! But there is no justice in war! The concept of applying rules to war is contradictory. It makes us see bloodbath as something fair, something normal. It makes us accept war!

VENETIA: But war will always exist. We have to accept it. At least we could take our friends off the battlefield.

OAK: It will always exist, but it should never be banalized. Making wars less cruel could promote more wars. If banning pokémon from the battles could make war acceptable enough to create just one single extra war in history, then, in my opinion, it's a bad idea.

VENETIA: I get your point. I think you have very good arguments, but I just can't agree with it. Sorry.

OAK: That's ok, Venetia. This debate divided the whole pokémon community. It's not a simple issue.

VENETIA: Who was representing the pokémon community in these meetings?

OAK: The most important Pokémon Professors of the time, some hotshot trainers, the elite four of every regional pokémon league...

VENETIA: That's before they merge into one bigger league?

OAK: Yes, it was.

VENETIA: What else was discussed?

OAK: We talked about methods for promoting human and pokémon rights, fostering social and economic development, the revitalization of areas devastated by the war, the scientific reconstruction of all that lost knowledge, specially about pokémon, the punishment of all the war criminals, environmental protection, several plans for helping starving populations in case of any future conflict or natural disaster that could happen... This kind of stuff.

VENETIA: How do you get invited to a meeting like this?

OAK: I worked several times in the past with the great Professor Rowan, from Sinnoh. He was one of the main representatives of the pokémon scientific community in the conferences and invited me to speak due to my specialization in human and pokémon relationship.

VENETIA: Did you get nervous? Speaking in front of all those important people?

OAK: (Laughs). I did, of course. But I need to do a lot of speeches in my field, so that's a felling I learned to ignore.

VENETIA: What else did you stand for in your speech, besides not banning pokémon from war?

OAK: Although I spoke against the abolition of pokémon fights, I defended that even the occasional battle for sport should be regulated and have restricted laws. I voted in favor of making the pokémon leagues the managers of all the rules regarding pokémon battles. Hm, I made a few statements about the future of TMs. I also presented the idea of the uncentralized systems with the kid's invention and the Pokémon Data Recovery Program with the Pokédex!

VENETIA: How were these ideas perceived?

OAK: The Pokédex and Bill's invention didn't face a lot of opposition. Even though they were such new technologies. There were a lot of progressive people in the League of the Nations meetings. For example, Porygon was presented to the world in one of those presentations. The first digital pokémon, made by the inverse process: created as a computer code, transferred to a pokéball and then released into the real world.

VENETIA: That's cool! What about your other ideas?

OAK: They were a little harder to pass (laughs). A lot of people were against restricting the power of trainers. My old friend Agatha opposed this idea so much that she called me an impostor in the middle of my speech! (Laughs).

VENETIA: The Six+ law almost didn't pass, right?

OAK: Yeah, this one really divided the voters.

VENETIA: Today everyone thinks it's normal to carry only six pokémon, I mean, why would you need more? Right? But at that time people should've seen it as an oppressive law. I mean, why would the government control the number of pokémon I carry with me?

OAK: Yeah. But In my opinion this law actually permitted people to carry more pokémon with them than they would otherwise. Everyone saw what could be done with excessive power. Anyone would get scared if they saw a trainer with a lot of pokéballs in their belts. You have to remember that before pokéballs nobody walked around with several monsters. But pokéballs were a thing now, there was nothing we could do about it. Everyone wanted to have a pet. Every kid wanted to be a trainer and carry lots of pokémon with them. This law permitted people to carry a good number of them without being considered hostile.

VENETIA: We talked earlier about the rules of the League when you were young. They permitted six pokémon per battle. Does this rule have anything to do with this law?

OAK: Yes, of course. Most competitors were used to train six pokémon, anyway.

VENETIA: You were applying professional rules to the everyday battle.

OAK: Exactly. Same thing with the Four Moves. Most leagues made their trainers register four moves per pokémon, and that was all they could use in the official battles. Now, any pokémon linked to a pokéball can only know four moves at a time. Another professional battle rule being used as a security measure.

VENETIA: The speech you gave is famous for being very theatrical. Why did you choose to do it this way?

OAK: I wanted to persuade those people that the transfer system was a good idea. How could I do that if I couldn't explain the technology myself? And most people in the audience were older than me! I needed Bill there. We needed to be didactical. On stage, in front of everyone, we traded pokémon between ourselves, captured some wild caterpie, filled six pokéballs assigned to us and caught one extra caterpie. People saw the captured pokémon being automatically transferred to the PC, thanks to some modifications the boy made to the pokéballs. All of this was new to the audience.

VENETIA: Earlier you said you made some statements in this meeting about the future of TMs. What kind of statements were these?

OAK: We were dealing with an easy way to learn a strong move. We had to be careful. If people started to fabricate TMs at home, the danger would be even greater! But TMs were already part of our reality. It would be pointless to ban them. The solution, in my opinion, was to regularize them. If we had a reliable company making TMs, people would buy the official ones instead of some unstable false move. Once again I vowed that pokémon leagues should have the responsibility on the matter. Silph Company and any other firm could do the product, but the leagues would supervise every TM sold.

VENETIA: What about HMs? Why do they exist?

OAK: The war didn't show us only bad things about pokémon powers, it also reminded us all of how they can save people's lives. Trainers should have access to free moves that can be used in dangerous situations, like Fly and Surf. The leagues got their share on the TM sales as long as they produced and distributed this kind of special moves for free, through gym leaders and any other way they could. That's why it's illegal to sell them. And that's why since the beginning one HM disc can be used many times.

VENETIA: Why did TMs could be used only once, anyway?

OAK: Profit. Silph Company was the only one making them. They would sell more if the TMs could be used only once.

VENETIA: Really? But they openly said that? They didn't give an excuse?

OAK: They used to say that if TMs could be used more than once people would share theirs with friends and the company would not sell enough to keep it's business. They only changed this strategy years later, when the competition got permission to release their own TMs, challenging Silph Company's monopoly.

VENETIA: What about the Data Recovery Program? Each region was assigned with a topic of study, right?

OAK: Not every region, but every main professor. Elm, whom I referred to the job, would lead every research on pokémon breeding in Johto. I would lead the pokémon and humans relationship studies in Kanto. Cedric, in Unova, would lead a team focused on tracking the origins of pokémon. But the labs always help each other and the scientists often jump from one to another. Professor Rowan, for example, went to Kanto to work with me for some years.

VENETIA: And of course, your biggest contribution to the Program was... The Pokédex! Why do you think it was important to start recovering the world's lost knowledge with pokémon? I mean, I know Team Smoke's target were pokémon databases, but a lot of other important info was lost, right? Why did the device focus on pokémon?

OAK: Well, because I created it!

VENETIA: (Laughs).

OAK: It has been my field of work, I had the idea and I projected it. Of course I made it pokémon related. But we had to start somewhere, right? And my idea would work because thousands of youngsters wanted to become trainers now that it was so easy, with pokéball and all these new technologies. Pokémon was the thing everybody was talking about. Oh! And nothing else changed that much during those years. We needed to see new data about it because it was probably very different from the past.

VENETIA: What do you mean? Like, human-made pokémon?

OAK: Not only this. With the war people took pokémon from one place to the other. Soldiers caring their monsters from one country would die in another. The pokémon sometimes survived and started a population in a region that it was not natural from. The whole pokémon demographics changed. But yeah, some people would have started somewhere else. I created it, so I made it pokémon-related.

VENETIA: Well, now pokémon is one of the most studied fields around the world and almost every little city has a pokécenter or pokémart, even if it doesn't have other kinds of important services. I bet it's because of your initiative. The world breathes pokémon. I always say you're one of the men that shaped the world as it is today.

OAK: (Laughs). Wow, Venetia. Thank you!

VENETIA: But what exactly does a Pokédex do? We all know the trainers side, but how it helps the scientific community?

OAK: Every time someone points one at a catalogued creature, the Pokédex recognizes the pokémon, records it's size, weight, physical constitution, speed, these kinds of data. Based on them the pokémon level it's calculated. It also files the place where the creature was found. All this data go to a system Bill created for me. In a few months we built a huge pokémon database doing this. It's a collaborative encyclopedia.

VENETIA: So, what's the difference between the Pokédexes used today and this one I have in my hands?

OAK: Well, there are several small differences, but the main one is the quantity of registered pokémon. This one is a prototype, based in Kanto. It has 150 catalogued pokémon that could be found in the region. I mean, 149 pokémon natural from Kanto and Mewtwo, that I believe was still around there. Oh, and I secretly hoped someone would point one of these to a mew someday, so I inserted him before releasing the product. (Laughs). 151 pokémon.

VENETIA: That's great! But how did you convince people to use the device?

OAK: This Pokédex shows the trainer a brief explanation about the encountered creature. It also shows Its type, all those particular stats of the individual pokémon and the average size and weight that our lab is constantly calculating using this same information the user just sent us! This was already very helpful for the trainer, specially young ones. Oh! And to give the users an extra incentive, we promised prizes to everyone! A gift according to the number of different kinds of pokémon they pointed the Pokédex at.

VENETIA: Is this method of research still used?

OAK: Yes, these are the basis of the modern Pokédex, too.

VENETIA: This one in my hand is still working both ways? I mean, if I use it, will the data be sent to you, even today?

OAK: If you leave this interview and point this old Pokédex at some creature, Venetia, you will be contributing to science.

VENETIA: (Laughs). That's awesome! I love it even more now!

OAK: Good to know.

VENETIA: Professor, we are out of time. This has been a wonderful interview! I still can't accept the fact that you're against banning pokémon from war, so my final question to you is: what do you care about the most, humans or pokémon?

OAK: (Laughs). Polemic question, right? You're becoming a great DJ!

VENETIA: (Laughs).

OAK: Venetia, I spent my life studying pokémon and guarantee nobody in the world respects them more, or is more fascinated by them than me. I've seen their powers unleashed in full capability, used for good and bad, to heal and to hurt, to create and to destroy, and I can assure you: their powers are nothing compared to the power of the human mind. For me, humans will always come first.

VENETIA: Wow! That's the statement I want to close this interview with! But, if you want more Professor Oak, don't worry! Stay tuned for _Professor Oak's Pokémon Talk_ , hosted by himself and DJ Mary that starts right now! Have a happy Thursday! See you tomorrow!

OAK: Thanks for having me! Bye!


	5. Friday

POKÉ WORLD WAR

 **Friday**

The following has been transcribed by the _Pokémon Channel_ _Radio Station_ crew in order to archive the _World War Week Special_.

VENETIA: Good morning, Johto! This is your host, DJ Venetia, and welcome to another episode of our special show _World War Week_! It's Friday already and it's a bittersweet feeling to remind you all that this is the last episode of our special show. I'm sad because I enjoyed so much doing this, but I'm also very, very glad everything happened the way we wanted, the show has been a success, and we will have lots of specials for you in the future. Today I'll interview Margaret Fournier, a beautiful lady from Kalos that was a doctor in the battlefields, helped rebuilding the world after the war ended and currently is the owner of the largest Pokémon Day Care in the Kalos Region! Hello, Margaret!

MARGARET: Hello, Venetia! It's an honor to be here.

VENETIA: It's an honor to have you, Margaret. I'll finally interview a girl!

MARGARET: That's true!

VENETIA: I'm in love with your accent!

MARGARET: (Laughs).

VENETIA: So, I want to know everything about your life, but we should focus on the war, ok? Because that's what this show's all about! You served as a doctor for the Kalos army, right?

MARGARET: Yes.

VENETIA: What does a war doctor do, exactly?

MARGARET: That war was kind of a turning point for the way we do everything, right? It wasn't different in my area.

VENETIA: Tell us all about it.

MARGARET: In the first years, we rode skiddos into the battlefields and took the wounded to one of our bases. If the injuries were too bad sometimes we took care of them right there, in the field.

VENETIA: We're talking about people or pokémon here?

MARGARET: Both.

VENETIA: Ok. You had your own skiddo? Did he belong to you or the government?

MARGARET: The army gave the pokémon to the soldier. I still have mine.

VENETIA: How do you call him?

MARGARET: Comte Aurele

VENETIA: (Laughs). That's so cute!

MARGARET: He's great. He's a Gogoat now!

VENETIA: Awesome.

MARGARET: In the last years of war, when Kalos soldiers started to use pokéballs, everything changed. Our main transportation was now a big van with a healing machine inside. A similar device to the ones you see in pokécenters today. Of course it was bigger back then. We only used our mounts to enter dangerous zones the van couldn't. Then we took the patient to the van as fast as we could.

VENETIA: Interesting. Big evolution, right?

MARGARET: It was safer for us, doctors, of course. And it was more efficient too. Yeah.

VENETIA: You don't sound convinced.

MARGARET: (Laughs).

VENETIA: Why?

MARGARET: Well, in the beginning, when we were riding through the battlefield, potions in our hips and skiddo between our legs, it felt real. It felt like we were something else, apart from the war. People who were there to save lives instead of taking them. Then we became just another piece in the chess board, you know? Getting the pokéballs of any Kalos soldier we saw, trying to heal as many pokémon as we could, so they could go back to battle and hurt themselves again. Just one more gear in the war machine.

VENETIA: Yeah, I understand your point. Now, Margaret, I...

(STATIC NOISE): skrrreeek!

MARGARET: Ouch! That was loud!

VENETIA: Wow. I'm sorry about that. Ouch! My ears hurt! (FAR FROM THE MIC) _Guys, what was that? Please, fix this!_ (INTO THE MIC) Sorry, everyone, we had some technical issue here, but our team will make sure I doesn't happen again. So, Margar...

(STATIC NOISE): _SKRRREEEK!_

(POKÉFLUTE SONG)

MYSTERIOUS VOICE: Hello people from Johto! I'm here to make you all wake up!

VENETIA: (FAR FROM THE MIC) _Guys, what's this? What's happening? Someone stop this madness!_

MYSTERIOUS VOICE: For all your lives you've been told lies, but this week was the summit of the filthy falsehood we've been dealing for so long!

VENETIA: This is so disrespectful! You stop doing what you're doing right now, mister! Or miss...

MYSTERIOUS VOICE: This show has been the most delusive piece of media to ever exist! Oak's interview was ridiculous! The man that gave total control of the world to the leagues and Silph Co. pretending he's one of the good guys! And that Leopold Darrel? Oh! Thinking about him makes me nauseous! Such a cat's-paw! A gear in the war machine, like Margaret said, but he knows it! And he likes it! You, listener! Don't you buy that man's innocent disguise! Released that early from prison because he helped the government to put an end to the war? (Laughs). Sure, sure.

MARGARET: Venetia, can't we just... Shut this person down?

VENETIA: I'm trying! (FAR FROM THE MIC) _Guys?_

MYSTERIOUS VOICE: Silph Co. leaked the pokéball. They were friends with Team Smoke the same way they were friends with Team Rocket later on. Only a blind person wouldn't see! The company gave the pokéball to the criminals and brought chaos! They wanted war and war they got. Then Silph Co. gave it to the army. To the army of every country! The company knew it would be impossible to stop using the product after it proved to be so useful. With the help of your senile friend Oak and a scary population they managed to pass all kinds of aberration as products. Silph Co. now have a monopoly in TMs, ruining the jobs of thousands of move tutors around the world! And, of course, the license to produce the aberrations of aberrations, a ball that destroys the pokémon! Yes, destroys! What did you think it did? Destroys and makes a digital code of it. And then creates a tamed copy of the creature whenever you want to. That's sick! That's outrageous! How can you all just close your eyes to this?

VENETIA: That's not how the pokéball works! The pokémon that comes out of it is the same that came in. He remembers stuff you told him.

MYSTERIOUS VOICE: Memory is as copyable as their physical body. Now, what will prevent Silph Co. of making a humanball?

VENETIA: (Laughs). You can't be serious! The pokémon DNA is very unique. Look at ditto...

MARGARET: Venetia, stop encouraging this crazy person...

MYSTERIOUS VOICE: Let's talk about ditto then. Have you ever seen any reference to this pokémon before the war?

VENETIA: If you had paid attention to the show, you would know there's very little references of anything pokémon related before the war...

MYSTERIOUS VOICE: Ask any old person if they knew about ditto before the pokédex. If they have a good memory, they will say they don't. Ditto is a product of the evil experiences Silph Co. made with mew through Team Smoke! All to create the most powerful war weapon ever!

VENETIA: (Laughs). Unbelievable!

MYSTERIOUS VOICE: And if you think a humanball is such an impossible concept, you better know both Bill and Silph Co. have been messing around with human teleportation for years now! That bizarre creature Leopold saw in Cinnabar is a consequence of this! Do you think people will rebel against the company if they attempt to make a humanball or something similar? What could we do now that the power of trainers is restrained? Now that we have a limit of moves in our pokémon and a limit of pokémon in our pockets? Now that a big part of the monsters and products we use are created and made by this very company that plan to usurp us? Now that we're not taming wild creatures anymore, but robotizing and throwing them into a virtual warehouse controlled by our very enemies? Don't you buy that old man's speech of independent PC systems, that doesn't make sense at all!

VENETIA: Well, guys, with sadness I announce that the last episode of our show will have to end sooner than we all expected because of this ridiculous invasion...

MYSTERIOUS VOICE: Don't use pokéball!

VENETIA: Thanks for coming, Margaret.

MYSTERIOUS VOICE: Don't teach your pokémon pre-made moves!

MARGARET: Thank you, Venetia.

MYSTERIOUS VOICE: Use move tutors!

VENETIA: Hope we can talk again, sometime in the future.

MYSTERIOUS VOICE: Battle in your own terms! Not using the league's set of rules!

MARGARET: Me too, Venetia.

MYSTERIOUS VOICE: Let your pokémon know all the moves it can, don't limit them!

VENETIA: I had a great time with you, guys! You're a wonderful audience!

MYSTERIOUS VOICE: Keep your pokémon free!

VENETIA: Bye!

 **Good morning real world! Author Koopa Trope here. Thank you very much for reading this. Thank you Carkidd for keeping me motivated with the reviews. It's my first fan fic and I had a blast writing it. If I ever write a Pokémon fan fic again it will take place in the same universe, and will have the same "trying to explain the Pokémon world" vibe, so follow me if you would like to read more.**

 **If you would like to read some non-fan fic wrote by me just send and e-mail to koopatrope saying something like "subscribe" and I'll let you know when I release something new. I will NEVER send you spam, and the ONLY time I'll send you an e-mail is if I post a new story on the internet.**

 **Goodbye and go play some Pokémon! =)**


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